Because We Are Only Human
by lostie963
Summary: Jack dreams of a certain brunette going missing. The others do what they do best, kidnap… don’t want to give too much away. Read and you’ll see.
1. Chapter 1

**Because We Are Only Human**

Set after the beginning of Lost season 3 with a twist, Skate never happens, Kate, Jack, and Sawyer escape from the others. This is several months later. The pregnant women on the island theme will be important. Don't want to give too much away.

This is just a really short intro chapter, please review and tell me what you think.

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_It was dark in the tent but he could still see her lying beside him. He could have lain there staring at her forever, watching her chest rise and fall slowly as she slept peacefully. He tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear and felt electrified as his fingers brushed against her skin. He smiled serenely. He still couldn't believe that they were together at last. It took him quite a while to fall asleep but when he did it was the most restful sleep he could ever remember experiencing. _

_He awoke feeling relaxed and content. But when he opened his eyes he was alone in the tent. She was gone. Panic overtook him quickly. It was light outside, maybe she had just woken up and decided to take a walk on the beach or something. Yes, that was it. He stood, forcing himself not to completely lose it. He couldn't quite explain the irrational terror that had engulfed him. _

_Outside everyone seemed to be acting normal. Hurley stood nearby, talking to Charlie and Claire. They were laughing at something Aaron had just done. Sayid was alone on the beach, fidgeting with something Jack couldn't identify. Sun and Jin were sitting together, he was resting his hand on her now very pregnant stomach, they looked much happier than they had been since the crash, though Jack didn't notice this now. Looking the other way he saw Locke gazing out across the ocean and many other castaways going about their normal morning routines, but she wasn't anywhere. _

_No one seemed to know where she was. He searched for a half an hour before finally recruiting the help of Sayid, Charlie, and Locke. Locke had suggested they split up and Jack was now searching with Sayid. They walked through the jungle for what seemed like eternity. He felt numb. Any traces of a trail had been washed away by rain that barely stopped pounding down on them. Still they kept walking, not daring to give up hope._

_Then his eyes fell on something in the foliage and suddenly he couldn't breathe, he blinked, not wanting to believe it. He hadn't imagined that finding her could possibly be worse than not knowing where she was, but the reality of it was too much. It felt so unreal, the amount of pain he could feel over the loss of someone he had barely known for half a year. He felt Sayid's hand on his shoulder, heard the consoling, sincere but awkward words, but he didn't register anything but the sight before his eyes. She was sprawled out on the jungle ground, her long dark hair framed her face. Her expression was almost peaceful, any hint of the painful past she had carried with her for so long had vanished from her face. If she hadn't been lying in a pool of her own blood she would have looked flawlessly beautiful. That is, if her green eyes hadn't been open still, haunting him with the emptiness he found there. _

Jack awoke with a start, drenched in sweat and gulping for air. Immense relief swept through his body as he realized it had only been a dream. He breathed in deeply, slowly taking in the reality that it was just a nightmare, a horrible nightmare. He turned onto his other side and reached out an arm to drape across her, but it fell through the air and hit the ground. Jack sat up hastily. He looked around frantically and returned to a state of total panic. It was real! She was gone!

Horrified beyond belief, he rushed out of the tent and stopped a short distance away, placing a hand on a tree for support, and breathing heavily as he tried to gather his thoughts.

"Dude, are you okay?" Hurley was staring at Jack with an expression halfway between concern and shock.

"Where," Jack gulped in air, "is— she?"

"Where is who?" a confused female voice came from behind him and he felt himself relax.

He turned to face her, to make sure it was really her, "No one, never mind." He began to walk away and then spun back around, _"Where were you?_ You shouldn't run off like that!"

She narrowed her eyes and glared at him, "What are you talking about, Jack!? I didn't run off anywhere. Is it a _crime_ to go get a mango? I thought we were on a free island." And with that she turned on her heel and stalked off angrily.

"What's with you man?" Hurley asked disbelievingly as Jack watched Kate disappear into the distance.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I know I used italics last chapter to signify a dream but I only used it in this chapter to emphasize the change in scene.

Because We Are Only Human

Chapter 2

--

Kate stood on the outskirts of the jungle. She watched Jack as he sat outside their tent, shuffling through items in a bag. She figured it had been almost an hour since he had snapped at her. What had set him off? She sighed heavily and walked the hundred yards or so between them. He didn't seem to notice her walk up behind him. She paused momentarily to observe closer what he was doing. He was sorting all the medicine that was left on the beach. She smiled a sad smile, knowing this was something he had already done. He looked preoccupied anyway because he kept putting things in different piles and then mumbling something under his breath when he realized it was the wrong place for it.

She swallowed hard, slightly nervous as she didn't know what was troubling him. Then she cleared her throat softly and he turned around. She smiled at him and tossed him a mango, "Are you hungry?"

He caught the fruit instinctively and stared down at it, looking rather tense.

"I'll just…. Go-" Kate spoke hesitantly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"No," his head snapped up and he looked alarmed. He glanced quickly at the mango and then back, "Thank you. Stay."

Kate sat down beside him. A long moment of silence passed until she put a hand on Jack's arm, "Jack… is something bothering you?"

He turned away and glared at the mango, "No."

Kate averted her gaze as well. She didn't like the awkward tension between them but she didn't know what to say, so she gave into the silence, for now.

--

_Juliet sat in a dark room, drumming her fingers on the table in front of her. She glanced at the clock on the wall every few minutes, as if waiting for something. It was a small room, when packed full it probably could have only fit ten people. There was a dimly lit lamp in the middle of the table but it did not provide much light. Fifteen minutes passed with the only noise in the room the sound of her fingers on the table. _

_Juliet was dressed in nightclothes and her long blonde hair had been pulled into a messy ponytail. The clock now read 2:00 and from the dark window it was apparent that it was AM. _

_At last the door opened and a man, hidden in shadow, slipped in noiselessly. _

"_Well Ben, you asked me to meet you, in the middle of the night no less, the least you could do is show up on time." Juliet remarked tiredly. _

"_I'm sorry, Juliet," he replied, "I had something I had to do." He ignored her as she snorted a little sarcastically, "The medical station, is all your equipment still there?"_

_Juliet titled her head a little in surprise, "Yes, it is."_

"_Good." The poor light cast ominous shadows on Ben's face. _

_--_

"Jack!"

He awoke with someone shaking him roughly by the shoulders and his name being whispered urgently.

"What?" he asked groggily as he sat up. He tried to shake off the ominous feeling that hung over him from the nightmare. He blinked several times and finally it registered that Kate had woken him up, "Is something wrong? Are you okay?"

"You looked like you were having a nightmare and you were talking in your sleep. You kept saying something about finding someone." Kate's face was pale and he noticed with guilt that there were deep circles under her eyes. She didn't look like she had gotten any sleep.

"Oh sorry, it's nothing." He tried to sound casual.

Kate sat up slowly, "I'll be back."

Jack felt like he should say something but he didn't want to tell her what his nightmare was about. He watched helplessly as she stood and then she suddenly fell back to the ground, clutching at her stomach in pain. He was up and at her side in an instant. "Kate, where does it hurt?"

She gasped slightly at the pain, then she was breathing easier, looking as though the pain had subsided a great deal. "I'm fine."

"Kate, where!" He was in doctor-mode now and there was no getting around it.

"Here." He examined the area and upon finding no evident signs of a problem returned to questioning her, "Has this happened before?"

"Umm, no… well... yeah." She looked uncomfortable.

He sighed, "How often and how bad?"

"It's not a big deal, Jack, really. I'm sure it's nothing. I stood up too quickly, I just need to be more careful."

He stared intently at her, "Have you been having any other symptoms?"

She hesitated and then stated emphatically, "No."

He felt her forehead with the back of his hand. "No fever."

"Jack! I'm fine!" She stood, this time slower.

He stood with her, "Kate, promise me you'll tell me if you have any more problems."

"I promise." She looked at him curiously, obviously thinking he was overacting.

He took her by the hand, "I love you."

"I know." She leaned up and kissed him softly. Then she slipped out of the tent, leaving him standing there, confused.

--

When Kate got outside it was still dark out and the camp was asleep. She stood outside the tent, debating about whether or not she should go back inside. Then she decided against it. She wandered down the beach, walking through the smallest waves. She tried to distract herself from her own thoughts by watching the waves wash across the sand, wiping away her footsteps. In truth, she really hadn't been feeling very well lately, but Jack already seemed so overly concerned. She didn't want to worry him more with her news.

She had thought no one was awake but soon realized she wasn't the only one up. Sawyer was sitting just out of reach of the waves, gazing intently into the distance.

She didn't really feel like talking to anyone, but when he looked over at the sound of her footsteps she couldn't just walk away, so she took a seat beside him. "What're you looking at?"

"The damn ocean, who knows, maybe I'll be the first to see a rescue boat," his voice was dripping with sarcasm," What about you, freckles? Why'd you leave the Doc all alone in that big spacious tent of yours?" He sounded slightly bitter, but genuinely curious as to why she was up so early.

"I just couldn't sleep," she lied. Actually, she had woken up to Jack's frantic calls of "where's Kate?!". She was sure it must have been the same thing that had been bothering him this morning; he had been acting so strangely. But that meant it was a reoccurring nightmare. Why was he dreaming something about her missing? And why wouldn't he tell her about it? She then became aware that Sawyer was talking, "what?"

"Nice to know you're listening to me."

"Sorry, Sawyer." She stood up.

"Hey, where're you going?" He shouted, sounding baffled.

"To sleep, good night."

It did not take her long to get back to their tent. It was quiet inside and she thought Jack may have fallen back asleep. She slipped inside quietly and lay down as silently as she could.

She was so quiet that his voice startled her, "Kate."

She jumped; she should have known he was awake. She waited for him to continue.

It sounded like this was hard for him; "Every time I fall asleep…" he stopped and took a deep breath, "I dream about you…. I always dream that you've disappeared… You're missing, so we set up a search party… And everything seems so real, I find you and you're," he voice broke slightly and he cleared his throat before finishing in a whisper, "dead."

"You don't need worry about me, Jack." Kate said, watching him as best she could in the darkness.

"Yes, I do."

"Why?"

"Because I love you." He pulled her to him gently and kissed her hard.

She deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around him. She broke the kiss for a moment to say, "I love you, too."

--

_Juliet rummaged through her room, occasionally tossing something into a backpack on the floor. She had to be ready to leave soon, it was nearly dawn. She didn't know why Ben considered it so vital she leave now. He said it was on Jacob's orders. _

_In the midst of flinging a piece of clothing into the bag she accidentally knocked a picture frame over. She caught it just before it hit the ground and turned it over to see the picture inside. She sank down onto her bed and stared and the picture. She felt a familiar pang of misery as she looked down at the image of her and her sister, smiling joyfully after discovering the news of the miracle pregnancy. _

_A tear fell onto the frame and she wiped it off with the corner of her shirt, then she carefully placed the photo back. _

_A quick peek into her pack told her she was ready and she zipped it up and slipped it on. Then she stepped outside, as she did rays of sunlight broke across the sky. _

_--_

Jack had spent most of the early morning checking on people throughout the camp. He made sure Sun was doing okay, he checked on Claire and Aaron, and generally just made sure no one was sick.

He was walking through the outskirts of the jungle, heading back to his tent to get more water when he saw Kate. She was leaning against a tree, eyes closed, looking a little shaky.

He started to move towards her. He was about to call her name when she suddenly was down on her knees, vomiting. He rushed to her and put a hand on her back in a comforting way. She didn't have time to look at him as she threw up again. He pulled her hair away from her face. After a second she looked at him, shakily and slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry," she said almost inaudibly.

"Kate, you don't have anything to be sorry for." He studied her expression attentively, she looked away under the intensity of his gaze.

"Kate… how long have you been sick? Kate…" he pressed the question, "how long?"

"About six weeks," she shifted away from him, as if expecting him to explode.

He sat back on his heels and let out a low whistle. He swore under his breath and she flinched. "Kate, why the hell didn't you tell me?!"

"You were already so worried. I didn't want to-"

"What? Didn't want to worry me more?"

"Jack…"

"Why the hell didn't you tell me, I'm a doctor, Kate. I could've helped you."

"Jack…"

"Did you tell anyone else? I can't believe you would just hide this. You know, it is really stupid to hide being sick. And that stomach pain you've been having, have you been hiding that for a month and half too? What good did you think would come of it?"

"I'm pregnant," she interrupted, though she was quiet now than before he stopped talking entirely, his jaw dropping in surprise. She took advantage of this and continued, "And no. I've only been having stomach pain for a few days, and it's not that bad."

"Kate… did you say you're"

"Pregnant," she filled in," yes."

"You're sure."

"Yes, I am. Jack, I should have told you, I'm sorry."

"How long have you known?" he asked flatly.

"A month," she touched his shoulder and looked him in the eye, trying to connect with him. "Jack," she sounded pleading, "I just… I"

"You didn't think I had a right to know? Is it mine?"

"Jack, I've just been so-"

"Is it mine, Kate?"

"Yes, of course."

Relief washed across his face and he finally stopped ranting, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Jack, I don't want to be… you know… the pregnant girl. 'Fragile' and restricted and everything."

"Kate…"

"And I'm afraid."

He stood slowly and pulled her up with him and into a hug, "I love you, Kate. It's okay, you don't have to be afraid." He stroked her hair and held her close to him. His mind was racing, what the hell now.

--

I think that's a good place to end the chapter. Comments? Review please.


	3. Chapter 3

I just realized that I forgot to do a disclaimer, so here it is: I do not own Lost.

-

I'm sorry for not updating in forever! Someone borrowed my computer for almost a month! Then I have had no internet for two weeks!!!!  But we just had internet installed an hour ago!! and so here is the next chapter, which I've had done for a long time…

Thank you so much to those who reviewed my last chapter, it is deeply appreciated :). In answer to a couple of the questions asked: yes, the pregnant women on the island plot will be very important to this story, this story takes place several months after Season 3 Episode 5 (Jack, Sawyer, and Kate escaped after Jack did the surgery, etc.), and yeah, I know I started off the story with Jate already together. I don't know if I will be going back to how that came to be at all, but, I might. If you asked a question I didn't answer yet, it will be explained within the next couple of chapters.

Okay, enjoy.

Because We Are Only Human

Chapter 3

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"Jack!! Kate!"

Kate rolled over and buried her face in her blanket, groaning loudly. She felt like she had just fallen asleep after several days with no sleep only to be rudely awakened minutes later.

"Jack!" The voice became more urgent, "Kate? Jack? Are you in there!?"

She slowly sat up. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked around groggily. It was still dark outside, and Jack was still sleeping peacefully to her right. Maybe it would be best to find out what was happening before waking him up. She knew if he woke up now he wouldn't go back to sleep, even if nothing was wrong. So she pulled on her clothes and walked out of the tent.

"Charlie, what is going…?" she trailed off, looking around her she was amazed they hadn't woken up earlier. It was night and even though many beachgoers slept peacefully, people ran up and down the beach, shouting back and forth to one another.

He stared back at her without answering for a moment, looking uncertain suddenly, "I came to get Jack because, well, a few minutes ago… they… some of the Others came, and they took her…"

"Who did the Others take?!" Kate remembered only too well her own stint among the Others. Who had they taken now? Would there be a rescue mission? Why had someone else been taken?

"They took Sun."

She took a step back instantly. For some reason she had been expecting that. It didn't take her long to come to a sickening conclusion, one that was particularly disturbing for her. They had originally taken Claire, but had become disinterested after Aaron had been born, now Sun was pregnant, and they had taken her. Was Kate next? Her mind was reeling with about a million different thoughts. She felt nauseous, and for the first time in a couple months, it wasn't morning sickness.

"Kate, why do you think they kidnap the pregnant women?" Her heart sank as Charlie voiced her thoughts aloud. Of course, he probably wouldn't have said that if he had known she was pregnant. No one knew, no one but Jack, and that was how she wanted it. "Kate? Are you okay? You look really pale."

"I'm fine, Charlie," she regained her composure quickly. "I'll wake up Jack."

She didn't wait for him to leave before ducking back into the tent. She paused before waking him up to push away the intense anxiety that was threatening to overtake her. Then she shook his shoulder firmly, "Jack! Wake up."

He awoke almost instantly, apparently not in as deep a sleep as she had thought, "What? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Jack, but," she sighed, "… they took Sun."

"Who took Sun?"

"The Others."

"What?"

"I don't know what happened, Charlie just told me that. He came to get you."

Jack was already pulling on his jeans, followed by a shirt and his shoes. Kate followed him as he rushed out of the tent.

He seemed to instantly appear at Jin's side. Charlie, Claire, Sayid, Locke, Hurley, and Sawyer were there as well.

"What happened?" Jack demanded.

Hurley was the first one to reply, "I was just laying down over there," he motioned to a spot just a little ways away, "I wasn't asleep yet because-"

"Hurley, just tell me what happened," Jack raised his eyebrows, amazed that he was taking the time to try to explain something as unimportant as why he wasn't asleep.

Hurley looked slightly taken aback, "and, well, then I just heard Sun scream and some guy cursing. I tried to see what was going on but they left so fast. There were like four of them."

Jack was thinking fast, looking around the circle and the concerned faces. "We need to set up a rescue party. Now! Every minute counts. Who's coming?"

Claire had to watch Aaron, Charlie wanted to stay with Claire. Hurley wanted to come but Jack quickly suggested he stay behind to help make sure people didn't wake up in the morning and flip out.

"Okay," Jack nodded, "The five of us then: Jin, obviously, Locke, Sayid, Sawyer, and me. We have five guns so that's perfect. We better get started."

"What about me?" Kate challenged.

"You can stay and help people here-"

"I want to go help find Sun."

"Kate, no," his eyes bore into hers, silently reminding her that she shouldn't come since she was pregnant.

"I can make my own decisions Jack. I'm coming."

"No, Kate. You're not." He turned away instantly to continue preparing for departure.

"Jack," it was Locke this time, "I think it would be a good idea to have another person along, you know, an even number."

Jack didn't even look at him, "So Charlie can come."

"Kate obviously wants to help, I think she'd be good to-"

"No one gives a damn what you think, John." Jack spun around and yelled in Locke's face.

"Jack, I am coming." Kate looked at him, half defiant, half angry. "I'll go get my stuff," she turned on her heel and stalked off.

"Dude, when did you become so protective?" Hurley looked shocked at Jacks vehemence. Jack glared at Hurley and walked away slowly, feeling angry at Kate's stubbornness.

---

"So what's up with the Doc'?"

Kate jumped at the sound of Sawyers question. She hadn't expected him to sneak up on her. She glanced at him and then returned to what she'd been doing. "Nothing, he's just being overprotective of me."

"And why's that, Freckles?" Sawyer leaned against a tree trunk and watched Kate grabbing some last minute supplies outside her tent.

"Go away, Sawyer."

He feigned a deeply hurt tone, "I thought we were friends."

"I mean it, just go." But before giving him a chance to leave, Kate walked away, back towards where everyone was meeting.

Sawyer followed after her, "Come on, you can tell me what's bothering you."

Kate stopped short and spun around, making Sawyer stop short to avoid crashing into her. She didn't speak; she just stood there, taking a few deep breaths.

Sawyer stood silently, one eyebrow raised, after a moment he ventured a question, "are we… playing twenty questions?"

"I'm pregnant," she turned back and continued walking as if she hadn't stopped.

Sawyer stayed still, "oooh, now I see the reason for the trouble in paradise, who's is it?"

Kate turned around and stopped again, "It's Jack's! Why would you ask me that?"

"Oh well… does he know you're pregnant…"

"That's why he's being so overprotective."

"I thought he was always like that."

SMACK! "Ow!!! What was that for?" Sawyer exclaimed.

"Blame it on the pregnancy hormones."

---

They walked into the jungle in the direction they thought Sun had been taken. A few rays of light were now breaking across the sky. In no time at all, they had lost any semblance of a trail. There just wasn't anything to go on. But they weren't about to turn around and go back yet.

Locke stopped them after a short distance. "Let's spilt up, we can cover more ground that way. There are 6 of us, let's split up into 3 groups. Jin and Sawyer can go one way, Sayid and Jack, and Kate and I will go-"

"I'll go with Kate," Jack cut in in a don't-even-think-about-questioning-me tone.

"Maybe you ought to let Kate make her own decisions," Locke said, the statement was dangerous considering Jack's frame of mind but Locke said it with a small smile.

"Don't worry about me, Jack," Kate tried to catch his eye, assure him that she really was okay, but he didn't look at her.

"Fine, let's just keep moving," Jack consented grudgingly.

"Wait," Locke said, causing Jack to turn back, looking impatient. "We should make sure the guns are divided up, we never really did that."

"Right," Jack mumbled. Locke, Sayid, Sawyer, and Jack had guns. Actually, Locke had two.

"Here," Locke handed one of his guns to Jin, and then he turned and offered the other to Kate.

Kate looked at him quizzically, but took the gun from him without hesitance. Locke motioned to a knife on his belt, "that's all I need."

Kate nodded once and stuck the gun into the back of her jeans.

---

"John, look at this," Kate pointed at a strip of white material; it was covered in dried blood.

Locke bent down to observe, then he stood up and looked ahead, "We must be going in the right direction then. Look," now it was Locke's turn to point. He motioned to a structure nearby, "it's their medical hatch. Ready?"

"Yeah," Kate nodded and walked toward the double doors, pulling out the gun slowly.

They entered the corridor only to find it just as deserted as the first time they had poked around in here. It looked like no one had been here in years. "It's empty," Kate lowered the gun to her side, feeling dejected.

"Let's make sure, here's a flashlight," Locke handed her a flashlight, "I'll look down this way and you check over there."

Kate nodded and moved off down another hallway. She walked in and out of rooms, finding each one as empty as the last. They must not have used this building in a very long time. She wished her flashlight was a bit brighter. At the end of the hall she turned around, nothing. Just as she was about to call out to Locke that it was all clear, someone appeared from a doorway to her right, lunging at her with a knife. She raised the gun and fired, but as she did someone spun her around, she felt something sharp in her neck, then nothing…

---

Jack stalked stoically through the dense jungle. It was late in the morning now. It seemed as if they had been searching forever, and still no sign. Maybe one of the other groups was having more luck. He mind was going in circles around the thought of Kate. Though he would never admit it, he was scared for her, and consequently for himself. They had to get off this island. Even though she was a wanted criminal, he would find a way to keep her safe, but here… he didn't know what to do. He just couldn't seem to escape a dark, ominous feeling. And then there was the fact that she was so damn independent. Why couldn't she just let him protect her?

"What was that?" Jack and Sayid both stopped dead in their tracks.

"It sounded like a gun shot," Sayid looked at Jack, then in the direction of the sound, "that way."

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A/N: Review please, I will try to get the next chapter up ASAP!!!


	4. Chapter 4

.A/N: I appreciate the support. Sorry for the wait for this chapter, I've been insanely busy.

* * *

Chapter 4

Locke ran toward the sound of the gunshot. The halls were empty. There was no sign of Kate, or anyone else. He stopped, uncertain of what to do next. Just then Sayid and Jack rushed into the medical station and found Locke.

"Where's Kate?" Jack asked. Jack and Sayid had their guns drawn, prepared for a fight or struggle of some kind, but Locke was standing alone in the hallway and there was no sign of anyone around.

"I don't know, Jack," Locke replied calmly.

--

Sawyer turned toward where Jin was yelling something in Korean. He ran towards the yelling, crashing through the jungle, and stopped when he saw Jin. Jin was leaning over something, someone. He walked towards them, trying to get a closer look at the body; it was a woman… with brunette hair. "Kate!" Sawyer closed the distance between them in an instant. She was unconscious. He had to get her back to the beach, no, not the beach. As much as it bothered him, he should take her to Jack. He had no idea why Kate was unconscious, but she was also pregnant, and Jack was the doctor.

He picked her up and didn't look back at Jin, just changed direction slightly, to the direction the others were headed, at least he thought it was the right direction. "Come on, let's go."

--

"We have searched the entire facility, and there is no one here," Sayid informed Jack. Then he said a little more patiently, "Jack, I know how much you want to find her, but she's not here."

It took a moment, but he finally relented and headed for the exit, Sayid and Locke followed him. They were headed away from the hatch. Jack yelled back behind him at the other two, "we may need to split up again."

"I don't think so, Jack," Locke responded. He had to quickly cut off Jack's incredulous response, "look!" He pointed ahead of them and to the right.

Jack looked to where Locke motioned, it was Jin and Sawyer, who was carrying Kate. He ran towards them. Sawyer laid Kate down in the grass. "Been lookin' for you Doc. We found her unconscious in the jungle. She doesn't seem to be injured at all…"

"No,…. here," Jack knelt beside Kate and pointed to a small puncture mark on her neck, "It looks like someone sedated her… in which case she'll wake up on her own soon."

"And if not?" Sawyer asked.

Jack stroked her face gently, "I don't know." He closed his eyes, trying not so much to such out the light, but to shut out the feeling of failure enveloping him. He should have made her stay, no, he knew that if he'd made her stay she would have come after them as soon as they'd left. But he should have been with her.

"Jack, we are going to keep looking for Sun, we will meet you back at the beach," Sayid waited a moment for Jack to respond, but he didn't, so Sayid, Jin, and Locke headed off.

"Go help them look for Sun," Jack said to Sawyer in a commanding tone.

"Look, Dr. Hero, this is a free island and I'm not going anywhere until I know she's okay."

"Fine," Jack hardly paid any attention to him.

Sawyer stared at him in disbelief; he'd expected at least a half-hearted verbal sparring match. "Are you… okay?' he asked awkwardly.

"It's my fault."

"How the hell do you figure that? You didn't do this to her."

"I should have made her stay."

Sawyer starting laughing at that, "you really think you could have?"

"Jack…" Kate mumbled his name.

"Kate!" Jack instantly focused all of his attention on her.

"Jack… what happened? I was with Locke… in the medical hatch…" she started to sit up, resisting his attempts to keep her lying down.

Sawyer was the one who replied, "We found you unconscious in the jungle, how are you feeling, freckles?"

"Sawyer?" She looked up to see him standing behind Jack. "Did someone find Sun?"

"No," Jack was checking her forehead for a fever, "Jin, Sayid, and Locke are still looking."

Kate tried to stand but Jack wouldn't let her, "I think we ought to keep looking in the medical hatch, someone attacked me in there and-"

"I'm taking you back to the beach, then I'll come back to help look," Jack stood, offered Kate his hand, and helped her stand slowly.

"Don't be ridiculous Jack, we can't waste any more time." Kate looked around them, trying to get her bearings and figure out where they were.

"You're going back to the beach." Jack grabbed her by the shoulder softly but firmly, and looked her in the eye.

"Whoa, Jacko, careful," Sawyer reached out slowly to take Jack's hand off Kate.

Jack turned to Sawyer, looking for a moment as if he were going to punch him, then he turned back to Kate, "stay out of it Sawyer."

Kate stepped back, "I'm not going back to the beach until we find Sun."

Jack stepped towards her, eliminating the space she had created between them, "Kate… please… just… go back to the beach." He didn't want to say anything about her being pregnant, and break her confidence. He stared at her meaningfully, thinking about her being pregnant, and the dreams… he just wanted her to be safe.

"Sawyer knows Jack," Kate said, knowing he wasn't quite talking freely because he didn't want to mention her being pregnant.

"Knows what?"

"That I'm pregnant."

He looked confused, and then he suddenly felt betrayed. He had only just found out. He'd assumed Kate had kept it to herself, but he'd been wrong. She'd trusted Sawyer enough to tell him, but she'd kept it from Jack. "Do whatever you want, Kate." He began to storm off.

"Jack!" She yelled after him, mystified by his sudden anger.

Sawyer stared after Jack for a moment and then looked at Kate, but she was gone.

--

Kate blinked away the tears as quickly as they had formed in her eyes. She wasn't going to allow herself to cry. She didn't understand why Jack had stalked off so furiously, especially when he had seemed so concerned for her just one moment before. Sure, she'd told Sawyer, but she didn't see the reason for Jack to be so angry, unless… unless he thought Sawyer had known all along. Crap… she sighed.

She knew she ought to find him and sort it out, but now she was at the medical station. She glanced around the jungle, no one was there. She withdrew her gun, holding it out defensively in front of her, and carefully and quietly opened the door. It was dark, as it had been before, with scattered, flickering lights. She descended into the station cautiously, pushing back the anxiety caused by being inside this hatch again. She heard a noise around the next corner and to the right. She stopped only to look both ways before turning the corner and heading down the hallway. She saw a light coming from the room with the lockers. She ran through the door with her gun still drawn, "hold it!"

"Kate, put the gun down," the blond woman requested calmly.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I am trying to save Sun's life, and yours….. you're pregnant."

"I know. How do you know, and who are you?"

"My name is Juliet. I'm a fertility doctor."

"You're one of the others, I saw you before I escaped."

Juliet raised an eyebrow at being called an 'other', "I was brought here to solve a problem."

"What problem was that?"

"Pregnant woman die on this island."

"Claire didn't."

"I know, I think that is because she conceived off the island. Listen, I know you don't believe me, but I'm not lying. I just want to help."

"And all I have is your word."

"Yes."

"Where's Sun?

"She's in here," Juliet pointed into the room behind her, the door hidden behind the lockers was partially exposed.

"I want to talk to her," Kate replied and she strode towards the door, but Juliet blocked her way.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now, Kate."

Kate pushed past Juliet anyway. She was stunned when her eyes fell on Sun...

* * *

A/N: Please review!!! Thanks!


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